20 September, 2006

Earlier this week, during my daily perusal of blogs, I saw that someone (I can't remember who at the moment) had noted that the Fernandes-Lowder debate video was now available online at the Institute of Biblical Defense website. Today, via Chris Hallquist's excellent blog I see that it's now on Google video. I was at that debate in 1999 at the Friday Center on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus and remember it pretty well. It was the only "live" debate I've attended and I found it both interesting and educational. Although I was still nominally a Christian, I had been seriously questioning my faith for a couple of years at that time and attended with the intention of truly listening to both sides. I remember being literally amazed at the rather poor arguments and rebuttal offered by Dr. Fernandes. Now that the video is freely available, I've had a chance to review it and I can see that my original assessment was really rather accurate.

It should be said that the audience was most likely not the "norm" for these types of events, which are usually hosted by Campus Crusade or some similar student ministry. This debate was the finale of a meeting of the Society of Humanist Philosophers and was co-sponsored by the Campus Freethought Association. All told, probably a little more sympathetic to Jeff Lowder's position. Still, both debaters were treated courteously and aside from a couple of obvious audience reactions during the Q&A, all arguments were given serious attention. Fernandes remarked on this himself during the Q&A. It should also be said that the video does not include all of the Q&A, although if memory serves, there's not that much lost.

At any rate, you can watch the video from the link at Jeff Lowder's website and see for yourself (oh, and if you look very hard during the first few moments of intro and later during the Q&A, you can see me on the far left hand side of the auditorium, about halfway down).

14 September, 2006

It isn't enough that the Republican party has turned its back on classical liberalism, but they have to complete their moral downfall by engaging in politicking of the worst kind.

Of course, this has been going on for some time now...this is merely the latest example.

Senator Bill Frist (R - TN, the scumbag who abused his authority as a doctor when he gave an unqualified opinion on Terri Schiavo's medical condition and then later tried to downplay his unethical behavior) is not only supporting an utterly useless bill to ban internet gambling, he's attempting to append it to a defense appropriation bill in order to blackmail his fellow legislators into voting to approve it. See, it's election time and a vote against the bill will give Republicans a nice lie to use against their opponents: "See, the Democrats don't support the war on terror! They voted against this defense appropriation! Why do they hate our freedom?!"

Is this to be the legacy of conservatism? Degenerate nanny-statism and deceit?

Vote Libertarian and toss the whole bloody lot of them out on their asses!

13 September, 2006

Today must be "post a video" day, because here's another: an interview of Milton Friedman from the 60's in which he explains rather clearly and concisely exactly what's wrong with the welfare state and why a limited government is the best way to preserve liberty.

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I was born and am still alive, residing in the great state of North Carolina. I sustain my body through gainful employment and my mind through reading and writing.
Motto: Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit -- Ovid

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Imagine the brain, that shiny mound of being, that mouse-gray parliament of cells, that dream factory, that petit tyrant inside a ball of bone, that huddle of neurons calling all the plays, that little everywhere, that fickle pleasuredome, that wrinkled wardrobe of selves stuffed into the skull like too many clothes into a gym bag.
Diane Ackerman